Michael Swickard's new novel about New Mexico

NewsNM - Swickard - If the story is true, good response from the police. Anything less would have gotten other people killed. From KOB-TV.com - By Eddie Garcia, KOB Eyewitness News 4; Tracy Dingmann & Danielle Flores, KOB.com - Albuquerque Police have confirmed that a suspect has died in an officer-involved shooting Tuesday afternoon on the city’s West Side. According to police, the man identified as 31-year-old Michael Marquez told officers he would not go without a fight. Police say Marquez was a registered sex offender and they had a warrant out for his arrest for three separate robberies. Albuquerque police were looking for Marquez Tuesday morning when they received a tip he was staying with friends or family in the area of 60th and Central. Officers surrounded the area and said Marquez exited the house and walked into a field carrying a bag containing a weapon. Police say they used a bullhorn to try to get Marquez to surrender, but he resisted. That is when police took their shot, killing Marquez. "His hand was inside the bag, this is an AK-47 assault type rifle with a pistol grip and he was deliberately turning and pointing the bag, which contained the rifle in the direction of officers as well as making comments basically prior to the events of today that was not going to…either go back to prison or not be taken alive," APD Police Chief Ray Schultz stated. KOB Eyewitness News 4 asked Chief Schultz why officers did not use less-than lethal measures first. "Because the fact that he's armed with a rifle, he was out in a field, less than lethal technologies and weapons have effective ranges and uses and that distance was not able to be utilized by officers who were on the scene," Schultz explained. Read more

From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - by Steve Terrell - Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Party leader in the U.S. House, found a friendly and receptive audience Monday at a federally supported senior center in Santa Fe. The California lawmaker and U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., spoke at the Mary Esther Gonzales Senior Center about protecting Social Security and Medicare during the ongoing deficit and budget battles in Washington, D.C. Pelosi, former House speaker, said the words "Social Security" shouldn't even be used in the same sentence with "deficit reduction." More than 100 people, mostly senior citizens, crowded into the center on Alto Street. Among them were state Reps. Luciano "Lucky" Varela and Jim Trujillo, both Santa Fe Democrats, along with Mayor David Coss, City Councilor Patti Bushee and County Commissioner Virginia Vigil. The event featuring Pelosi, who was a major focus of Republican attacks during the last national election, was not widely publicized in advance. Without using the name of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Pelosi criticized the Republican presidential candidate for referring to Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme." Read more

According to Roundhouse Roundup's Steve Terrell, Governor Susana Martinez re-qualified for a conceal and carry weapons permit at a shooting range recently. The Governor says she is a better shot than law enforcement husband Chuck Franco. Might be time for a fundraising shootout at the range between these two firearm experts. You can see the video of the Governor's prowess with a weapon here: News New Mexico

KOB - TV - The Sandia Ranger district is thinning out the forest in the East Mountains, saying the area is just as ripe for future fires as the area ravaged by the massive Wallow Fire this summer. "Annually, we just get out there and clear dead branches and clear dead limbs," said private homeowner Travis Johansen. Johansen and his wife Charla say they are trying to do the responsible thing and thin out dense foliage on their property but they are afraid even that won't protect their home from forest fires. "How is it going to help us going to help us if we clear our land and our neighbors don't clear their land?" said Charla Johansen. Their concern is shared by the Sandia Ranger District, who says the forest is unnaturally thick. They look to Alpine, Ariz,, which was spared from the monster Wallow Fire this summer, only because of proactive forest thinning. Read full story here: News New Mexico